The War for Japan
by Razgriz247
Summary: Japan has fallen to Britannia, but there are bits of resistance that continues to beat at the invaders. Can the Japanese defeat the Britannians and their powerful allies, the Republic? Maybe, but only with the help of Geass, the power of the king...AU
1. 7 Years Ago

**A/n: And here is the first part of the prequel to my first story, A Soldier's Trials. Don't exactly have to read that story to understand this one, but it can help, especially with the later chapters. Anyway, hope you stay with me till the end of this story. Enjoy!**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its characters, Knightmare frames, settings, and plot. **

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><p>My name is Kallen Kōzuki.<p>

Seven years ago, we were a proud nation. We stood independent from other nations and only relied on ourselves. We lived in an age of prosperity. An age where the common man could live his life without fear of being unable to provide for his family.

Seven years ago, that all changed.

An independent nation, known as the Holy Britannia Empire, invaded our home world of Japan. Life as we knew it ceased to exist.

The Britannians brought in their advanced war machines, such as their mech units and heavy assault vehicles, while we fought with our outdated weapons. We managed to fight back for a while, holding our ground against the powerful nation, but ultimately we were crushed. Our prime minister committed suicide, rather than give in to Britannia's victory, causing the Japanese government to end up surrendering to the Britannians.

Japan was renamed Eleven, for the eleventh world that the Britannians "colonized." We Japanese, now called Elevens after the name the Britannians gave our world, were rounded up by the Britannians and placed in disgusting run-down ghettos. Then, the Britannians set us to work rebuilding the cities that were destroyed during the invasion. Those grand, shiny new cities became the symbol of the Britannian's grip on Japan and the ghettos symbolized the Japanese's hopelessness and weakness.

Now, there were ways that the Japanese could rise up in the ranks of the Britannian-controlled society, just by swearing loyalty to the Britannian crown to become a Honorary Britannian, who had most of the same rights as actual Britannians. However, very few Japanese did that. Most of us were too proud of ourselves, and refused to betray our world. But for those few that did, they faced discrimination from Britannians and Japanese alike. Nothing was ever in the favor for the Japanese.

There is now several resistance movements here in Japan, dead set on sending the Britannians back where they belong, but uncertain about how to proceed doing it. The media calls the more violent resistance terrorism, but many Japanese applaud the efforts of these resistance movements. They are the only ones that continue to give hope to the Japanese people.

However, the Britannians don't make the fight easy. The Britannians go into the ghettos, searching for any traces of resistance members. They massacre Japanese civilians whenever they don't find anything, to set an example for the rest of the Japanese. And no one can stop the Britannians from doing it.

Or maybe, it's more appropriate to say that no one will stop the Britannians. There are several nations that are still powerful enough to force the Britannians to end their expansionist goals and to protect those nations that aren't prepared to take on the Britannians. One such nation is the Grand Republic of Combined Planets, better known as the Republic. It's the most powerful nation in the universe, yet refused to help the Japanese in its time of dire need. If anything, the Republic aided the Britannian forces in their invasion of Japan. It was an insult to all the democratic views we've come to expect from the Republic, and it left us standing alone to face the Britannians.

All we can do is fight. But without a centralized resistance, there is no hope that we can win. There is no one leader, one symbol of hope, to rally to. I don't know if Japan will ever be free. I keep on praying that Japan will, but with each day that passes I lose hope. It will take a miracle from the gods in order to save Japan from all these forces…


	2. The Power of the King

The cool breeze flowed through my hair as I traveled down the moderately-busy highway on the sidecar of my blue-haired friend Rivalz's motorcycle.

"Hey Lelouch," Rivalz called out over the hum of the engines. "That was some pretty good chess playing back at that club. Some more playing like that and we'll be rich!"

I laughed at that. Yes, what I was doing, gaining money from playing chess, is illegal here in Japan, but it's fun, especially when playing against a Britannian opponent. I'm not particularly fond of Britannians that like to look down on others, so I try to give them a little taste of defeat by using my intellect. It keeps me entertained, seeing as how I'm stuck here in Japan. I'm powerless over my current situation.

Anyway, I digress. A screech of wheels and loud honking came from a large truck to my right, causing Rivalz to turn the bike sharply to avoid crashing into the truck. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Rivalz pointlessly shouted at the truck. The truck continued to swerve out of control, creating skid marks along the highway, until it went crashing into the railing and went over the side of the road.

"Rivalz, pull over!" I told him.

"What?"

"I said pull over!"

The motorcycle turned and slowed down to the side of the road, near where the truck crashed through the railing. I took off the helmet I was wearing and jumped out of the boxcar. Several cars were already stopping around the area to see all the commotion was all about. As for me, I rushed over to the railing and looked down.

Amazingly, the truck had landed upright. Sure, there were some bumps and pieces of jagged metal jutting out, but for the most part, the truck was intact. However, my curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know who was driving that truck, what was in the truck that could cause such reckless driving, and, not as high as a priority for me right then, check to see if the person driving was all right.

"Hey Rivalz, I'm going down there," I told him. "People down there might need help."

"Are you crazy? That truck tried to run us over just moments ago. We should just stay here until the authorities get here."

"I'm going. My mind has been made up." I got onto the railing and jumped down, but now before seeing Rivalz throw his arms up. The jump itself wasn't very high, and I managed to land on my feet. Lucky, seeing as how I never was a physical person. Never did like gym class in school…

Back to the truck. I got up and dusted my black pants off. Can't get these real dirty. Don't want the entire school to know what I've been up to. Anyway, after that, I ran over to the truck. I was almost at the driver side door when I heard the particular hum of a Republic gunship. They've been traveling around Japan for some time now, aiding the Britannian army. Wherever a white Republic gunship is, expect some Britannian forces to be close by.

The white gunship rose up behind the highway road and moved in closer to the truck. "We have the truck surrounded," a voice on loudspeakers from the gunship boomed. I decided that now would be a bad time to be trying to find out who was driving, so I slipped into a door on the side of the large cargo container the truck was transporting.

Inside, it was dark. There was a foul odor emanating from the walls. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a large sphere with tubes, buttons and wires tangled all around it set near me. I wandered closer to it, when I heard the muffled sound of the Republic announcer's voice. "Exit the truck slowly, and no one will need to get hurt."

Instead, the truck backed up quickly and then burst forward, sending me smacking against the wall. I slowly stood back up, though my legs still a bit wobbly. I could feel the truck picking up speed and I wondered why the gunship didn't just open fire and destroy the truck. Why would they let the truck get away, more than anything? Anyway, I stumbled over to the sphere when I saw a brown mech unit. What was one of these doing here, I thought.

Before I could figure that out, a door separating the tractor unit with the cargo trailer slid open with a hiss. I dove behind the sphere as a very gorgeous girl walked confidently into the cargo container. She had spiked, bright red hair and blue eyes, and I could swear that I've seen her before at school. However, I couldn't remember her name at that moment. Either way, she luckily didn't notice me hiding. She just climbed into the brown mech unit, concentrated on the task at hand. The entire side of the container folded up and the mech hopped out, sparks flying when the metal hit the pavement. The mech unit fired out a set of metal claws connected to thick metal cables before the side of the container started closing. I heard an explosion, presumably from the Republic gunship being destroyed, and saw several fiery pieces of shrapnel hit the ground around the mech before the side of the container closed completely.

Now I had a better understanding of my situation. These people running away from that gunship are Japanese terrorists. They must have something that the Republic and the Britannians want, but what? Unless…

I stared at the sphere. It's got to be this sphere, I thought. That was the only thing left in here that both military forces would want. The question was what was in the sphere that everyone wants so badly and no one was willing to destroy. Whatever it was, I wasn't going to find out right now, not in this rumbling truck. I would just have to sit here and wait until the truck stop before I could get to the bottom of this.

And then there was that girl. What was she doing here? Why was she fighting for the Japanese? If I was correct and she did go to Ashford Academy, my school, she would have to be Britannian, as the academy only accepted Britannians. She shouldn't have any loyalties to the Japanese. And yet, she fights for them. It's not like she was just a sympathizer, where she would just protest against the treatment of the Japanese people. She straight out attacked a Britannian ally. I would need to do a little research on her once I got out of this mess that I had gotten myself into. She was too dangerous for me not to keep an eye on.

Ping ping ping ping! Bullets were striking the truck up front.

Eerrrrr! The sound of the brakes finally snapped me out of my thoughts and I was again thrown around the container as the truck slid in a ninety degree angle. I'm surprised that I didn't get a concussion with all that tossing around. It was a bad experience, one I hoped to forget. However, it only got worse from there.

The side of the container opened up and I had to shield my eyes as bright lights flooded the container. I heard the sound of guns cocking and the shuffling of boots. I lowered my hand as my eyes got used to the light and saw that the truck was now in an abandoned building. And then I saw that guns being aimed at me by several masked Britannian soldiers.

"Hold it right there!" shouted out one of the soldiers. "Put your hands above your head." I did as he asked, possibly a bit faster than he would have liked, as he quickly followed up with, "Slowly."

One of the soldiers broke rank and came over to me. The soldier looked intently at my face, studying it.

"What the hell are you doing Kururugi? Get back in line, away from that bomb!" ordered his superior, a bearded man wearing a standard Britannian officer uniform.

Kururugi? Can it be? "Suzaku?" I asked. "Is that you?" The bomb was in the back of my head for now.

The soldier took of their helmet, revealing a green eye, brown hair teen. "Hey, Lelouch. It's been too long. It's good to see you again."

So it was Suzaku. He was a Japanese friend of mine, a long time ago, before the Britannian invasion of Japan. He was the son of Genbu Kururugi, the last prime minister of Japan. Suzaku changed a lot after his death. He decided to join the Britannian forces later. I wasn't never sure exactly why, other than that he wanted to change the government from the inside. "Wow…Look at you Suzaku. A soldier in the Britannian army. You've risen up," I commented.

Suzaku chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. "Same old Lelouch." He turned back to his officer. "Sir, we can stand down. I know this person. He's not a terrorist."

There was a hiss behind me. The soldiers didn't relax. In fact, the tension just heightened in the building. I turned my head and saw that the bomb had open. What the bomb revealed shocked me.

A girl, a long green-haired girl with gold eyes, was strapped in a sort of white straightjacket that had so many straps and zippers on it. Her mouth was gagged by the suit's high collar. She fell out of the "bomb" and nearly hit the ground, but I caught her just in time. Suzaku turned around and loudly said to the rest of the soldiers, "Hang on! We got several civilians here!" I brushed a strand of the girl's hair away from her face. There was a red scar on her forehead, bird-like in shape. It was strange...But then again, all these events were strange.

Suzaku went over to his superior and held a discussion with him. I was left to tend to this girl. I pulled down the mouth gag down. The girl started to wake up, her eyes a bit groggy. "Hey, are you alright?" I asked her. She blinked a couple of times. A soldier walking over to the front of the truck caught my attention. I disregarded the girl for a couple of seconds when I heard a flash of light and a loud bang.

Suzaku turned around and yelled, "Why did you do that? That was unnecessary!"

"Those are my orders Kururugi! We must get rid of all evidence of this incident!" Suzaku's officer yelled back. "The rest of you, get the girl. Kururugi, I'm giving you one last chance. Kill this Britannian." The officer held out a pistol to Suzaku. "Go on," the officer urged Suzaku.

Two soldiers came up to me and ripped the girl away from me. She struggled in vain. They held her tight and brought her back to the line of soldiers. I stood up and face the soldiers. Suzaku still had not taken the weapon. I could do nothing but wait for Suzaku to make his decision.

"No." Suzaku backed away from his officer. "I can't do that. I can't kill my friend. Nor can I allow you to kill these people."

"Well then, Japanese scum..." The officer took the pistol and shoot Suzaku. "That's what happens when soldiers disobeys orders."

"Suzaku!" I could only watch helplessly as he fall onto his officer, and then slid to the ground. "No..."

The officer laughed. "That stinking Japanese was getting on my nerve anyhow." The rest of the soldiers laughed with him. What a shame, the way Britannians hold themselves, yet will do such evil deeds. My best friend was gone, and all they did was laugh. I vowed that if I ever survived this, I would kill them all. However, those chances of survival were very slim, and now had disappeared with Suzaku.

The officer raised his pistol at me. "I'm sorry you had to be caught up in all of this," he said unapologetically. His finger began to squeeze the trigger. I slowly waited for the bullet to come to end my life.

"NOOO!" The girl managed to tear herself away from the soldiers holding her and ran over to me. She stood in front of me, facing the soldiers, her arms stretched out to the side. At that moment, the officer fired the pistol. The girl's head snapped back, and she collapsed to the ground, a bloody bullet hole in her forehead. I knelt down beside her and looked on. There was nothing I could do. She gave up her life to save me, just as Suzaku had done moments ago.

"Bitch! How dare she!" The officer swore. He took aim at me once more.

A hand grabbed my arm, and I looked down at who grabbed me. It was the girl. But how? It couldn't have been possible. Suddenly, I was transported to a completely different location, with blotches of colors surrounding me as I freefell. "What is this? What's going on?" I said out loud, hoping for an answer.

"Welcome to my world Lelouch," the girl's sly voice boomed from all directions.

"Why am I here?" I shouted.

"You're here because you have unfinished business with the world. I am here to give you a second chance, a chance to get revenge against your father, the Emperor of the Britannian Empire, and to solve the mystery behind whoever killed your mother."

"How did...how did you know those things?" These things were private. Almost no one knew about my linage, save for very few people. And definitely not this girl.

The girl chuckled. "I can see into your mind right now Lelouch. You're full of pain and anger, helplessness. I can help you ease all of that. However, if you decide you want my help, you will have to do something for me in return."

"What?" This girl was too mysterious for my liking, but if she could save me and help me...

"You have to accept my contract first. Then you'll find out what you will need to do."

"How can you help me?"

"I can grant you the power of Geass, the power of the kings. With Geass, you can do what your heart desires. You can have your revenge. You can search for your answers. And you can protect your sister. But you must be prepared to live alone, for the power of the king will isolate you. "

Hers words struck a chord in me. I couldn't let anything happen to Nunally, my sister, after we became prisoners in one of my father's little games. I would make the deal, and gain this power of Geass, in order to protect my sister, even if it meant giving up everything I had known. "Alright," I told the girl. "I accept your contract!"

I was quickly sent back to the real world, where the guns still were waiting for me. The girl's hand was now resting on the ground again. I stood up, while covering my left eye because I felt something was on it, and stared at the soldiers. They must have been shocked that I had the gull to face them, knowing my supposedly impending doom. "Scared? Aren't you going to shoot? I'm just a Britannian schoolboy after all," I taunted them. "Or maybe you have realized that the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!" I acted on instinct from then on. I uncovered my left eye, revealing it to have a reddish tint and the same bird-like shape the girl had. "I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you! Now, all of you…Die!" I ordered them.

The officer started laughing hysterically. "Hehehehehehe! As you wish, Your Highness!" All the soldiers opened fired among themselves, killing each other. A bit of blood sprayed onto my right cheek. From that moment on, I knew I could never go back to live my life the way that I had been living it. I had been so helpless and powerless over my situation. Now, with Geass, I could change all of that. I lived a life full of lies, but now, I could finally fight for the truth.

And my sister's happiness. That was truly all that matter to me.

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><p><strong>An: Unfortunately, school has started, so postings of new chapters will slow down dramatically. Just a heads up. **


	3. A White Knight Rises

**A/n: I apologize for the long wait. I've been busy with school and college apps, so I've haven't had time to write. However, I did manage to finish this part up, so I decided to post this up for you guys...Hope you guys enjoy it! **

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><p>"Well, well, well…Looks like someone is finally waking up…" I groaned as I opened my eyes and was faced with a light purple haired man who wore circular glasses and a white lab coat. "Cecile, the boy's waking up!" I rose up and propped myself up. I saw a dark purple haired lady walk into the room.<p>

"Where am I? What is this place?" I asked.

"My, my. You have no recollection of anything recent, do you?" the man asked.

"No, no I don't...Other than being shot at by-" I looked down at my body and found my torso wrapped in bandages.

"Hm..."

"Lloyd! So inconsiderate!" Cecile scolded Lloyd.

"What?"

"You haven't even asked him for his name?"

"Huh?"

I continued watching them squabble between themselves, all the while thinking back to the situation at that abandoned warehouse. Were Lelouch and that girl safe? I had no idea.

Lloyd coughed, taking me out of my thoughts. "So, Suzaku Kururugi...Is that correct?"

"Yes..." I answered slowly.

Lloyd turned to Cecile. "You see? We didn't need to ask him!"

"It's called being polite!" Cecile said.

Lloyd turned back to me. "So, we have an Honorary Britannian on our hands. You know, when we found you, everyone around you was dead. You were lucky." Lloyd held out a cracked antique pocket watch. "This stopped the bullet from killing you."

I took the watch from Lloyd. "Right….lucky…" This watch had nothing but bad memories associated with it. It was given to me by my father, who...who I killed. He was so stubborn, always willing to sacrifice every single Japanese life in order to defeat Britannia. I killed him to stop all the violence. This watch will always be a reminder of him, and how I should be punished for my crimes, yet I never am. I always seem to escape these near-death accidents fine. It's as if there's a guardian angel watching over me, yet I don't want it. I just wish to die...

"Helloooo?" I looked up and saw that Lloyd was in my face, yet again.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering, or rather, the Britannian army, whether you could give us any details on what occurred in that warehouse."

"Well," I started to recall. "Our squad managed to trap the target vechicle and bring it to a stop. The truck's containers opened up, revealing a civilian that I knew. A friend. There was also a sphere inside the truck, and that opened to reveal a girl with green hair. My commander told the men to take the girl and ordered me to kill my friend. I refused, and so he shot me. After that, I had no idea what happened."

"That's interesting," commented Cecile. "We only recovered the bodies of Britannian soldiers and the terrorist. No civilian causalities were accounted for in that warehouse."

Whew...at least Lelouch and that girl were safe, I thought. I could stop worrying about whether they got out alright. But now I had to deal with the corruption I faced in that warehouse. I swear, how could the Britannian government let its soldiers kill civilians? Just because Britannia had conquered them? It's despicable. Something had to be done. But...that would be near impossible in my position. I was just an Honorary Britannian, and still so many Britannians saw me as Japanese. I would have to slowly work my way up into the higher echelon of the Britannian government and cause the change from within. But that would take some time...time that these people, the ones who were dying by this government's hands, did not have.

"Anyway, Suzaku, since you aren't part of a formal squad anymore, seeing as how all the members except you are dead, we asked have that you be placed in the Special Corps of the military. So now you're working with us," said Lloyd.

"Special Corps?" I asked. I had never heard of them.

"We're a research organization that is part of the military but don't necessarily follow the same rules," explained Cecile. "We can technically do whatever we want, under the orders of Prince Schneizel el Britannia, who was also the person to confirm your position here at Camelot."

Prince Schneizel...He was pretty high on the royal ladder...The second prince in line for the Britannian crown. That was surprising that he would be in charge of this organization. "So...what is it that you guys do exactly?"

"Basically, we develop and test new technology for the Britannian army to use. For example, we've helped developed the armor that the army uses and some custom mech units that commanders want to fulfill certain specs. Of course, they're not mass producible. Currently, we have been working on a new generation of mech units as our most recent project. Units that are faster and more powerful than the previous generation and that are cost-effective and easy to produce. We only have working unit currently...with no pilot."

"Have you had any mech training Suzaku?" asked Lloyd suddenly.

"Uh...yes?" I said.

"Hm...perfect. How would you like to be the first pilot of the next generation of mech units?" Lloyd brought his hands out of his pockets and held out a mech key on the tips of his fingers.

I was being offered a chance to be more than an ordinary soldier. This was something no Honorary Britannian could ever dream of being. If I decided to take that key, I would be able to possibly try to rise up to the Knights of the Round, the elite mech pilots of the Britannian and those closest to the Emperor apart from his family. If I could only reach that status…

"Well?" asked Lloyd, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked at the key and weighed my options. "I'll pilot the mech for you," I told Lloyd.

"Wonderful!" Lloyd said elatedly. He tossed me the key, which I caught one-handed, and plunged his hands into his pockets. "Now, all we need is to get you a pilot suit that's the correct size, the manual to the mech, and get you to the mech itself." Lloyd twirled around and faced Cecile. "Miss Cecile, would be so kind as to get Suzaku here ready? I need to have a little talk with Prince Clovis." Lloyd walked out of the room, leaving me with Cecile.

Cecile gave a little sigh. "I apologize for Lloyd's behavior. He was always a bit…eccentric."

"It's not a problem Miss Cecile. I've dealt with worse before."

"Hm...Well, let's get you the manual and your measurements. I'll be right back." She went out of the room to get the stuff.

I stood up and decided to stretch. Lying on a bed for long periods of time doesn't do a soldier any good. I looked back at the watch, which was still in my hand. I sighed, which was when Cecile decided to come in with the manual and flight suit in her hands.

"Here we go," said Cecile. She tossed the flight suit over to me and set manual on the bed. "That should be your size," she said, pointed at the suit. "Just let me know if it doesn't fit."

"Thanks Miss Cecile."

"I'm going to go find Lloyd. It shouldn't take him this long to talk to the prince." She left the room a second time.

Sighing again, I slowly slipped into the flight suit and zipped it up in the front. It fitted snuggly over my slim body. Surprising, seeing as how I didn't even get measure for it. Cecile did a really good job eyeballing it.

I went over to the bed and picked up the hefty manual. Flipping over the pages, I saw lots of diagrams. I sat back down onto the bed and started reading the manual from the first page. After a couple of minutes of reading, I realized that this mech really was top of the line. Sure, basic mech skills were needed, as always, but when you got down to the details, it got all...complex. I wasn't sure I would be able to handle such power. I read on, learning more about the mech, learning what it was capable of, and thinking about how I would pilot such a mech.

An hour passed before Cecile and Lloyd came back. Lloyd had a joyful expression on his face as he approached me. "Looks like today is your lucky day Suzaku," he said.

"Huh?"

"The Britannian military forces in the Shinjuku ghettos have been decimated by Japanese terrorists in the area. Prince Clovis asked that the Special Corps step in and help clean up the mess. And I was only too happy to oblige. It is a perfect opportunity to gather battle data on our new mech. Hopefully you finished reading that manual, because you're heading into combat."

Wow, I thought. The terrorist were actually winning a battle. Someone must have been helping them. The terrorist never stood a chance to the army before, so how were they defeating the army now...

Anyway, I confidently told Lloyd, "I'm ready"

Lloyd chuckled. "Brave and daring. I like that." He turned around and beckoned me to follow him. I put the manual back on the bed and walked after him. We walked outside, which was when I saw the entire military command center around me.

"Prince Clovis is personally overseeing this?" I asked Lloyd, who nodded yes.

"It's odd that the prince would personally want to come and command the troops on the frontline, but he is the prince."

"I see."

We continued walking until we stopped in front of the giant mech, which as covered by a large black sheet. "Reports state that the terrorists have captured Britannian mechs in their possession," Lloyd told me.

I looked at him quizzingly. "How did that happen?"

"I have no idea, but that doesn't matter. Just get into that mech and clean up the mess. Oh, and collect data while you're at it."

"I know, I know." I looked back up at the mech.

The sheet gracefully fluttered off the mech, revealing a majestic white unit that had gold outlines. It was slim and elegant, something that couldn't be said about the current generation of mech units.

"We call it Lancelot," revealed Lloyd. "Now, let's get this show on the road!" He walked behind the Lancelot into the Corps' control center.

I walked over to a ladder and quickly climbed up into the seat of the Lancelot. I strapped myself in, and the seat automatically slid into the cockpit. There was a white and red headset lying on the control panel, which I took and placed over my right ear.

Cecile's voice crackled through the headset. "_Are you ready Suzaku?"_ she asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I responded.

_"Alright. Plug in the key and we'll begin check off procedures."_

I plugged the key into its port and screens around me started blinking into existence. I could hear a quiet hum under me as the engine started turning.

_"Suzaku, everything fine on your end?"_

I checked the screens, which reported that all systems were running. "Everything on my end looks fine," I told Cecile. "All systems are working fine."

_"Good. You're cleared to proceed with your mission."_ Off one of the screens, I saw a large assault rifle being lifted up to Lancelot's right arm. I reached out and gripped the controls tightly, and moved the arm and grabbed the gun.

"Let's go then," I said mostly to myself. I thrust the controls out and the Lancelot burst forward with a speed that would rival current mechs. It was amazing, to say the least.

Soon, I entered the ghettos, where all the death and despair was occurring. Didn't both sides know that this battle wasn't doing anyone good? For the terrorists, it meant the destruction of the people they were meaning to protect. For the Britannians, it meant the native people distrusting the government more. I had to stop this battle here and now, before any more innocent people got caught in our crossfire. I pushed the Lancelot harder, raising the speed on the Lancelot a bit.

_"You in the white mech! You are entering a combat zone!"_ a male voice rang out over my headset.

"Who is this? And how did you get this com channel?"

_"This is Captain Hunter of the Republic Army, call sign Trinity. This area is under Republic control now. Stand down and leave the area, or we will fire on you."_

Shit! This wasn't good. When did the Republic take over operational command? I decided go contact Cecile. "Miss Cecile, what's going on? Why is the Republic in charge now?"

_"We only got word of this seconds ago,"_ she said. "_The Republic doesn't want anyone to interfere with whatever they're doing."_

"I don't care! People inside the ghettos are getting killed. I'm not going to stand by and let that happen, especially if I know that it's in my power to save them! Let the Republic do their thing. I'll do mine!"

_"This is your last warning!"_ said Captain Hunter. _"Stand down, or be shot down!"_

_"Suzaku, Prince Clovis is giving you the order to continue your mission,"_ informed Cecile. _"Ignore the Republic. The prince said that he will deal with them."_

"Understood." I was still perplexed by the Republic, but decided at that moment that it wasn't that important. I continued forward, heading deeper into the ghettos. The gray ruins zoomed past me, reminding me of a world that has been forgotten to the greed of mankind. It was a pitiful sight.

A single Britannian mech soon rolled out in front of me and started firing on me. I figured that these were the captured mechs and that I need to take them out. The rebel pilot had such bad aim that none of the shots connected with the Lancelot. I raised the assault rifle to firing position and sent out five shots, punching three fist-sized holes into the chest area and two holes into the head. The mech fell backward and burst into a fiery explosion.

I rolled past the downed mech, only to face more gunfire several meters away. I activated the Lancelot's shield, repelling the bullets off to the side. The rebels' mechs continued firing, with no effect. All of a sudden, the rebels ceased fire, which confused me for a second, until I felt Lancelot lurch forward, falling face first. I raised an arm out, touching the ground, and pushed off, flipping the Lancelot back onto its feet again. I turned Lancelot and faced the mech that attacked me from behind. It was an outdated brown mech, with one arm missing.

"Now this is an interesting turn of events. I didn't expect a mech like that to be able to hit Lancelot." I charged forward, and the brown mech did the same. Looks like the rebels were better armed than we ever thought…


	4. Hidden Enemies

**A/n: And here's to a Happy New Year to all you guys who read this...XD**

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><p>The brown mech fired out its claws at me. The claws didn't hinder my progress toward the mech, as I ducked under them. The pilot in the other mech realized that they were no match for the Lancelot, after seeing how quickly and easily I dodged its attack, and thus attempted to retreat. I chased after it, only to stop in my tracks when a single large round hit the mech square in the chest. The pilot ejected out and landed safe a distance away before the entire mech exploded. I looked up to see who had interfered in our fight and saw a floating bulky black mech with a cross insignia on its left shoulder. Its green eyes stared right at me.<p>

_"I suggest you get your ass back into the fight,"_ said Captain Hunter through our comms, surprising me. Looked like he was the pilot of that mech...

He continued on. _"I have my orders to aid you, seeing as how your little prince had to meddle with the Republic's affairs."_

I was just about to point out the irony in his statement, but several more mech units appeared, grabbing our attention as they fired off several shoulder-launched rockets. I moved out of the way of the incoming rockets, while Hunter fired off several rounds at the rebels.

_"Hurry up and get the hell out of here, soldier boy!"_ Hunter ordered calmly over the comms. _"I'll clean up the rebels over here."_ His mech dropped to the ground and stomped forward toward the rebels. I fired off a couple of shots from my rifle at the rebels before turning away and leaving this conflict for the Republic captain.

I continued traveling deeper into the ghetto, eliminating any rebels that got in my way, when a thought occurred to me. The rebels only started succeeding in their fight today, which had to have meant that someone was helping them, one that either knew how the Britannians operated or was intelligent enough to create disorder. And the only way that the person could beat the Britannians was if that person had real-time intel. So that meant...

That person had to be giving commands from the field. Someone relaying all the battlefield intel to him would be too inconvenient. That meant that I could find the person and eliminate him and end this battle.

Another rebel mech fired a rocket at me. It flashed passed Lancelot's head. I took aim and took out the rebel mech with three well placed shots to the head. "Okay, time to find the one giving orders," I thought out loud. "Cecile," I said to the comms. "What's the range of Lancelot's scanners?"

_"They have a radius of 500 yards in the best weather conditions. Why do you ask, Suzaku?"_ Cecile asked.

"I believe that the cause for the Japanese rebel's success is due to a person who knows a lot that is in the battle zone and I need to find that person quickly. Otherwise, this battle could last longer and eventually end in Britannia's defeat here."

_"I understand. Good luck finding that person" _

I stopped talking to Cecile and activated Lancelot's scanners, immediately trying to find the target...Wherever he was. I roamed around, grateful that Captain Hunter had occupied the rebels, seeing as how I didn't encounter any more rebel mechs.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The scanners had found something! I enlarged it on Lancelot's HUD, and saw the small form of a still Britannian mech hiding up in an abandoned building. Its attention was directed elsewhere. I guess that the mech couldn't detect the Lancelot, as it was a newer model and had newer stealth technology.

I leapt up and landed hard onto the roof of the abandoned building, sending up a cloud of dust. I looked down and, content that the enemy mech was still occupied, I punched the ground. The roof gave away, collapsing under me. I crashed down lower and lower and lower, until I reached the floor my target was in. I glided right into the mech as the mech's head was just turning around to see what the hell was happening.

I smashed into him with a bit more force than I intended, for the next moment we were smashing through a wall and falling to the ground below us. We threw several punches at each other, though none of them did any real damage on the opponent.

We finally came to violent halt as we crashed into the ground, leaving another cracked crater in the war-torn ghetto. The enemy mech ended up being on top of me, and threw a single punch before rushing out of the crater. I did a quick damage assessment and, seeing as there was minimal damage done to the Lancelot, rose up and quickly rushed after the enemy.

The enemy had a head start, giving him a bit of distance to separate him from me. I ran faster at him, while at the same time readying my rifle. "This is the Britannian Army. You are under arrest for unlawful rebellion against the Britannian Empire," I said though Lancelot to the enemy. The enemy mech didn't stop, which I expected. Instead, the enemy mech turned around and drove backwards, while also getting its gun ready.

Then...we fired.

Pewpewpewpewpew! Pewpewpew! Pewpewpewpewpewpew!

We both dodged the others' bullets for a while, with each of us hitting stone or concrete. We continued our barrage of bullets while generally missing each other. Chips of hard material clattered into Lancelot, distorting my vision for a bit.

A bit of fortune did shine on me when that happened. The enemy let his guard down for a bit and went right into the path of my bullets. By the time Lancelot's vision clear up, the enemy mech had lost its left arm. However, his right arm was still intact and still had the gun. He sprayed bullets all over the area, some of them ricocheting off Lancelot. Then he did something I should have not been surprised by.

I heard the loud shouts of help coming from my left. I turned Lancelot's head to see a lady standing near the edge of a tall apartment complex. I assumed that the enemy saw the same thing, because he opened fired on that building.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew!

The rounds missed the lady, but she wasn't all that lucky. The floor under her collapsed and she fell, screaming her lungs out.

"You coward!" I said out loud. I twisted Lancelot around and jumped up towards the lady. "Can't let her fall...can't let her fall," I kept on thinking to myself. I reached out for her with one hand as I closed in on her, and then caught her. I enclosed her with Lancelot's other hand and then dropped back down.

Back on the ground, I opened Lancelot's hands and let the lady walk off onto the pavement. When she got off, she turned around and looked straight into Lancelot's face. "Why don't you stupid Britannians just die? You all cause so much trouble!" she said and ran off.

I just sighed. There was just so much hatred between the Japanese and the Britannians. Not even saving them changed much in their eyes...That just fueled me to continue the fight to end this battle, to try to make a difference, to show that there wasn't a need for all this destruction and death.

I activated Lancelot's scanners again, attempting to find the target again. However, instead of one mech showing up on the scanners, there were five mechs…And all five were quickly closing in onto my location.

I got Lancelot ready for battle. I was going to end up fighting in close quarters. The buildings didn't provide a lot of space to shoot, so it was going to end up in hand-to-hand conflict.

A minute later, the rebel mechs rolled into view, fists ready to fight. I took up a defense stance and waited for the rebels to come to me. They did as I expected, coming in close, expecting an easy opponent.

That's when I struck. I grabbed the closest mech by the arm as it tried to punch me and twisted around so that I ended up behind the mech. I kicked the next mech in the chest, dented the metal, while still holding onto the arm of the entrapped mech. The third and fourth mech tried to sneak up behind me, but I twisted around so that they attacked their partner. I kicked the back of that trapped mech so that it crashed into its buddies, while also letting me rip out its arm, leaving a stump of wire and metal. I used the arm and smashed it into the last mech's head, deforming it and knocking it off to the side.

The second mech got back up and tried to ram into me, but I threw an uppercut and knocked the head right off, effectively rendering that mech useless. The mech slumped down as its pilot ejected out of it. The first mech attempted to shoot me while I was distracted, yet I saw it out of the corner of Lancelot's screens and moved ou of the way, causing bullets to flying harmlessly next to me. I kicked the gun out of the mech's hand, sending it flying into the air, and then punched the mech. The gun came back down, which I caught, and unleashed a hailstorm of bullets on the fifth mech, which tried to get a metal pole and impale Lancelot on it. That mech burst into useless bits of smoking metal. The third and fourth got up and retreated, dragging the first mech off to safety.

I began to pursue them when there was a message announced over the comms. And oddly enough, it was Prince Clovis who was giving it.

"_To all Britannian and Republic forces, I, Prince Clovis la Britannia of the Holy Britannian Empire, order a ceasefire to end the fighting. Not only that, I order all fighting forces to provide the Japanese people to medical aid. We have to mend our relationships with the Japanese, and this will be one of the first steps on that long road."_

What the hell? Why? Why did he give this order? I stopped Lancelot in its track. This didn't seem like the Britannians to just do something like this...Something was wrong.

I turned Lancelot around and started heading back to the command center. Thoughts were racing through my head. I kept on wondering why Prince Clovis would order such a thing. He had the Japanese on the run. Why would he stop? Unless...

All the clues that I had dug up today pointed to one thing; somehow, the target I was pursuing managed to infiltrate the command center's security and coerce Prince Clovis into giving the ceasefire command. There could be no other explanation, not after learning that the Japanese had someone who was resourceful on their side.

I stepped on the accelerator, pushing Lancelot to go its fastest. With any luck, I could arrive to the center in time to capture the target.

I managed to get back to the command center within ten minutes. I quickly parked Lancelot back into its housing and climbed a ladder down off of Lancelot. Cecile and Lloyd were waiting for me at the bottom...along with several Britannian soldiers.

"What's all this?" I asked Cecile.

"Suzaku," Cecile began. "Prince Clovis...is dead."

"What?" I was shocked. "How?"

"Preliminary investigations point to murder."

"Is there any clues to who the murderer could be?"

Lloyd spoke up. "Unfortunately, yes. That's what these gentlemen are here for," he said with a sigh.

I looked at Lloyd, and then Cecile, and then back at Lloyd. "You guys...you guys don't think I murdered the prince, do you? I was out fighting on the Lancelot this whole time! There's no way I could have killed Prince Clovis!"

"We believe you, but we don't have any say on what the military does. The military thinks you did it," explained Cecile. "We tried to explain it to them, but they refused to believe it."

"What…the…HELL is the hold up ladies!" a harsh voice asked behind Cecile and Lloyd. "Come on ladies, hurry up and bring in that sticking Eleven!"

The soldiers moved in and whacked me with their rifles until I was on my knees. They grabbed my wrists and slapped on a pair of handcuffs. They lifted me up and shoved me forward with the butt of their rifles. I slowly started to walk toward a military truck they were leading me to.

As I walked closer to my cage, I saw a mech with its left arm missing mixed in with a bunch of other damaged Britannian mechs. It was damaged in all the same area as the mech I was searching for earlier. It was the exactly same mech I was searching for…and the Britannians were just going to overlook it. "Sly son of a bitch," I thought to myself, knowing that the target gotten away with his scheme.

As me and my guards stopped at the truck, two soldiers opened up the back of the truck. One of the soldiers gave me a whack on the back and I stumbled into the truck, which was pitch black. I turned around, only to see the soldiers close the doors and lock it with a clack and a slam.

I was essentially blind then. I felt the truck started up, and nearly fell over when the truck began moving forward. I rocked back and forth as I tried to find seats. Feeling none, I sat criss-cross on the ground. And then I closed my eyes and waited...

I didn't have to wait long. Something clicked on, so I opened my eyes, only to see a light bulb shining dully above me. A dark imposing figure walked toward me. The figure wore near-standard Republic armor, with the exception of thicker armor plates and the color being dark gray instead of the pure white of a standard trooper. The figure knelt down to my eyelevel. The figure stayed in that position for some time, observing me. Then the figure stood up.

"Well Kururugi, looks like you're in a bad position," said a familiar voice.

"Captain Hunter...what a pleasure to meet you," I said blandly, finally being able to put the voice to…a face of sorts...

"Hm..." The captain was deep in thought. "I must say, Kururugi, your claim of innocence is intriguing...As for your search for a certain person..." Hunter turned to me and me to him. "Yes, I know about your search. And, quite frankly, the Britannians only want to use you as a scapegoat. My superiors have a different plan. However, it all hinges on whether you want to cooperate with the Republic or not."

I contemplated his offer. "What's the catch?" I asked him, knowing the Republic never did anything for free.

"There's no catch, other than you help us save lives. This person doesn't seem to care about peoples' lives. The end results are the only thing that this person cares about." He held out his hand to me. "What do you say Kururugi? Up for the challenge?"

I stared at his hand. Should I accept his offer? If I did, the rebels would lose a valuable asset, one that they didn't need. But if I did, I would be betraying the Japanese people. But then again, they already thought of me as a traitor, a government patsy.

Then I thought of that lady I saved. If I didn't bring that person to justice, more people would needlessly get hurt in this war. I just couldn't let that happen. This wasn't how justice was suppose to work. The innocent weren't suppose to be harmed by all our fighting. And if this person was willing to harm one person, what's to say that he wouldn't be willing to harm millions?

I made up my mind then and there. "I'll work with you, Captain, if you can promise me that no innocent lives will be harmed in your plan."

"Done," he said. I took his hand and shook it. "This looks to be the start of a very promising relationship, Kururugi."


	5. Back to Normality

**A/n: Boy, oh boy...It's been some time since I've uploaded a chapter. I've just been really busy, and I apologize. Hopefully, I can get back to my schedule soon.**

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><p>Today was eventful...Maybe a little too eventful. I was exhausted. I had a flashback to what happened as I had approached Prince Clovis, my half brother. He thought he was safe behind his cowardly generals and hardened troops, but I showed him different. I shot him point blank in the head. His slack face had a surprised look to it. Did he really think that I wouldn't shoot him?<p>

I guess he underestimated me. Hopefully, Father would learn more about the incident and learn to fear me. But until that time comes...

I slowly walked up a set of stairs that lead to a moderately sized house, my house. The lights were still on, casting a comforting glow in the darkness of night. I stopped in front of a set of doors, which opened inward.

"Welcome back Master Lelouch!" My maid, Sayoko Shinozaki, greeted me. She was of Japanese descent, and originally worked for a school friend of mine, Milly Ashford, a fellow Britannian who knew my true origins. Milly's parents owned this house...And the academy which I went to, which was just walking distance away.

Sayoko stepped to the side, letting me through. I walked in, taking off my jacket while I was at it, and hung it on a coat hanger. Sayoko closed the door behind me with a small click.

"Your sister is waiting in the living room," Sayoko informed me.

I nodded my thanks and headed towards the living room. Once there, I saw my sister Nunnally, sitting in a wheelchair, folding paper cranes on a large dark wood table. There were already two on the table. She heard me come closer and turned to the sound. She was blind, losing her vision a long time ago, when our mother died to assassins...

Anyway, I greeted her. "Hey Nunnally."

"Lelouch!" I knelt down next to her, letting her hug me in a tight embrace. "Oh, we were so worried about you."

"I'm sorry about that Nunnally. I was just caught up in some important stuff."

"Did you hear about what happened in the Shinjuku ghettos?"

"Um...no...I haven't," I lied. Nunnally didn't need to know about my escapade. It would just hurt her.

"The news said that the rebels were killing innocent Japanese there, and that the Britannian army was sent in to stop them. And that Prince Clovis was murdered. It was horrible."

So, they wanted to cover this entire event up. They wanted to gain sympathy and make people distrust the rebels. But the Japanese knew the truth...or at least those who weren't blinded by the Britannian government.

"That is horrible, Nunnally," I agreed with her. I got up and went behind her and started pushing her toward her bedroom. "We'll talk more later, alright Nunnally? It's late and you need your rest." I pushed her past the television, which was airing a late news broadcast. I stopped in front of it to see what was on.

"We have late breaking news to report. Honorary Britannian Suzaku Kururugi, son of the late Japanese Prime Minister Kururugi, was arrested by a joint Britannian and Republic task force." They showed video footage of Suzaku being led in handcuffs by a Republic soldier in black armor "Kururugi is accused of murdering Prince Clovis la Britannia during today's attack on Japanese rebels in the Shinjuku ghettos." Here they showed footage of burning buildings and angry confused mobs of Japanese.

"Oh my...That's terrible!" Nunnally said, shocked. She asked me, "Is it really Suzaku?"

"That's what they are saying."

"He couldn't have done it. Suzaku would never do such a thing!"

"I know. It's probably just a mix up. I'm sure that the issue will resolve itself quickly. The government can't hold an innocent person indefinitely."

"Hm..." I continued pushing Nunnally. "Big brother?"

"Yes?"We reached her bed. I carefully helped her onto her bed and tucked the covers under her chin.

"Big brother, promise me that you won't do anything rash. Promise me that you'll never lie to me."

"Nunnally, I would never lie to you."

"Promise me Lelouch!" She held out her pinkie finger. "Please?"

I wrapped my pinkie finger around hers. "I promise Nunnally. You won't have to worry about me."

"And I won't let anything happen to you," I thought to myself.

She giggled. "Good night, big brother."

"Good night Nunnally..." I walked to the door and turned off the lights. "Sweet dreams."

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><p>The next day, I was sitting in class, figuring out what to do about Suzaku. It would be a challenge freeing him from the hands of the Britannians, but it was possible. I just needed the help of-<p>

"Lelouch Lamperouge!" my teacher shouted. I must have dozed off a bit. "I will not tolerate any sleeping in my class. Continue, and you can expect to fail."

"Yes ma'am," I said nonchalantly with a smile.

"Humph!" My teacher turned back to her blackboard and continued droning about her lesson.

I would need some way to get in contact with the Japanese rebels...And a disguise. I didn't need people knowing who I really was...Especially the rebels...If they ever found out that I was a Britannian prince, I would lose their support...

RING! RING! RING!

"Class dismissed!" The teacher stared at students as they quickly left the classroom. I packed up my books and left as well. I calmly walked down the hallways, deep in thought. I would need to develop an alternate persona, one who could lead the rebels to victory. And there was also the issue of my new power, or Geass. I needed to learn more about this ability, to control it, and to use it to its fullest potential. Then, and only then, would I stand a chance against my father.

SMACK!

"Oof!" I fell to the floor with my books tumbling into a mess on the floor. I got up and saw that in my thinking, I had not paid any attention to anything in front of me. I had bumped into a girl...

It was the girl that I saw on the truck, the red-head who had piloted the old mech unit and eliminated some of the Republic pursuers. Though she looked a bit different. Her hair was combed down instead of spiked, and she looked a bit sickly. Also, the school uniform just seemed out of place on her slim frame.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl apologized quietly. "I wasn't paying attention." She scrambled around, picking up her fallen books. One dropped in front of me, so I decided to pick it up.

"Here. You missed one." I held out the book to her. "And don't blame yourself. It was my fault. My head was in the clouds."

"Thank you..." She stacked the books up into her arms and began to walk away.

"Hey, wait a minute," I said, running after her. When I caught up with her, I was panting. I tapped the girl's shoulder. "I didn't catch your name back there."

"You went to a lot of trouble just to figure out my name," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"_Well, hopefully, I get to know more about a potential ally,"_ I thought. I shrugged at her. "Well, I think we should get to know each other better. I mean, we do go to the same school," I told her.

"Meh..."

"Well, anyway, my name's Lelouch."

"Kallen Stadtfeld," she muttered. She started walking again.

"Wait!" Kallen turned around and looked me. I decided that I needed some answers, answers she wouldn't give me willingly. I activated my Geass, which caused her to go into somewhat of a daze. "Were you fighting in the Shinjuku ghettos yesterday?"

She stared at me, and then responded in a monotone voice, "Yes."

"Were you the one piloting the brown mech?"

"Yes."

"Do you fight for the Japanese rebels?"

"Yes."

"_Hm...Well, that's a good start on questions,"_ I thought. I turned around and walked away, but not before saying, "Don't tell anyone about the Shinjuku ghettos."

"Wait, what?" She came up behind me and turned me around. "What do you know about the Shinjuku ghettos?"

"_Shit,"_ I thought. _"Why didn't the Geass work? Damn it, I need to cover this up, and fast."_

"It's all over the news," I said to her, trying to find a way to explain how I knew anything about the ghetto incident. "You might want to try to watch it sometime." I shrugged her off and quickly walked away. I was waiting for her to grab me again, but it never happened.

I was going to have to hurry up and figure out the limitations of my powers sooner, rather than later. I couldn't afford to make another mistake like that again. It would be simple mistakes like this that could undo everything that I had in mind.


	6. Hunter and Prey

**A/n: Finally finished another chapter. It's been slow going, but I'm still pushing through it. I thank you all that still are staying with this story...XD **

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><p>A gray, lonely, metal cage. I had been stuck here for five days. I had to keep up appearances, I guess. The Republic captain wanted to be absolute sure that his plan for unmasking the rebels' new hero would go as smoothly as possible. To that effect, he had to go through the whole charades of keeping me locked in this cell and letting the Britannian royal family continue to believe that I was the murderer. I swear, it's like the captain really has it out for this guy.<p>

I heard the slow footsteps of my Britannian guard pacing outside my cell. "Filthy Jap...Don't know why I'm stuck guarding your fucking ass..." I heard the guard mutter to himself. "You all deserve to rot in hell for all I care..."

I remained silent. The guard just couldn't understand that it was people like him that made the Japanese as desperate as they are now. They were the problem, but they refused to admit it. They would rather live in false security than in a joint peace. It was a shame.

SLAM! Clackclackclackclack.

The guard ceased his pacing and stood straight. He raised his hand to salute someone.

"Hello Suzaku." It was Captain Hunter, but for the first time, without his armor. He had a frightening demeanor and a scar across his left eye didn't help matters. He turned to the guard and ordered, "Stop saluting and open this cell."

"Y-yes sir," the guard stammered out. He took out a key card and slid it on a panel next to my cell, causing the clear force field encaging me to fizzle out.

"I'm taking the prisoner to an interrogation room," the captain told the guard. "I'll get him back to you in an hour." Then he beckoned me to follow him. I straightened out my prisoner jumpsuit and calmly walked after the captain, all the while having the guard give me a disgusted look. I kept a blank face, trying not to provoke the guard.

I followed Hunter down several lifeless corridors, until we reached an interrogation room. I went in and immediately saw several files on a table in the middle of the room. Hunter gestured at a seat, which I took, and he took his own seat opposite me. He was looking intently at the files in front of him, not saying anything to me.

There wasn't a clock around, but after what seemed like an eternity, Hunter threw a file onto the table, which slid towards me. "Read it," he told me. I opened the file and scanned the pages inside. Every single one of them had details on a hooded-figure named Zero. I continued reading, when I saw that Zero was the person that was behind the rebels' success during the Shinjuku battles and was also the person I was pursuing before I was arrested.

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that it is this Zero that you want my help apprehending," I said to Hunter. He nodded. "Why?"

"From the information that the Republic has gathered, you may know Zero's real identity. If the info that we have gathered is correct, then you would be the perfect person to stop Zero."

"And who do you think is Zero?"

"Republic intel says it is this person." Hunter threw another file toward me. I flipped open the cover and saw a face that I recognized.

"General Tohdoh?" General Kyoshiro Tohdoh was a childhood instructor of mine, and was a commander during the initial Britannian invasion. I looked back at the captain. "I don't think that is possible."

"Why not? All the signs point to him. He's the only Japanese to ever defeat the Britannian mech forces using outdated weapons. Not to mention, he supports the rebellion cause."

"He might support them, but I haven't heard of him taking direct command ever since the end of the previous war," I argued. "And why would he have to hide his face from even his own men if he was going to go out into battle? And what about attacking civilians? General Tohdoh would never do that!"

"It could be that the rebels need to protect the general's identity and make it harder for Britannian and Republic forces to eliminate him as a threat. And attacking civilians could be just a new tactic. Either way, Zero is dangerous, no matter whom the person behind the mask is." Hunter shuffled through more files and then looked at me with serious eyes. "Your trial is in two days. Republic planners have put together a plan to capture Zero. In order to draw out Zero, the Britannians will be highly publicizing your route to the courthouse. We expect Zero to show up, possibly to free a fellow Japanese that he can turn to the rebels."

"I'll never join him," I said disdainfully.

"I don't care about the ideology involved in this. I just want Zero captured." He continued on explaining the plan. When and if Zero appears, a joint force of Britannian and Republic troops will surround the area, locking down any escape route Zero may have planned. Zero will have nowhere to go, and we will have him captured." His eyes locked onto mine. "Are you with me, or are you against me?"

I broke my gaze away from him. It was getting distracting. "What are you going to do once you have Zero?" I asked.

"I tell you that once we have him."

I sighed. "Very well then. I'll play along."

Hunter nodded. "Guard!" he shouted loudly. A guard opened the door and came in. "Take the prisoner back to his cell," Hunter ordered. The guard grabbed my arm and yanked me away, out of the room, while Hunter stayed in the interrogation room, preparing to contact someone on his phone. I was dragged away from view, roughly being pushed around until we got back to the cell, which the guard then shoved me in before reactivating the force field and then leaving.

I was all alone again...

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><p>It had been two days since my meeting with Captain Hunter. Within that time, I was left mostly alone, with the exception of the occasional guard walking by to check up on me. I was getting tired of waiting for my trial. I wanted some information about the outside world, but I guess that the prison's warden refused. It was frustrating.<p>

Bam! I jerked up to the loud noise, which was followed by the clacking of metal boots on the cement floor. "Guard, open up the cell!" I heard Hunter shout out. I waited patiently as the force field was quickly dissipated. Hunter quickly walked in and urged me to follow. "Hurry up...we don't have all day." He clamped a pair of cold handcuffs around my wrists. "Are you ready for this?" I nodded yes.

A set of guards came in and surrounded me. Hunter led the way and we walked to an unmarked black truck. The two guards in front of me went into the back of the truck first, and then pulled me up. They sat me down, locked me in, and then helped the other two guards that were behind me up into the truck. Hunter remained outside. "Good luck Suzaku," he said to me before shutting the doors on us. I heard a muffled, "Let's go!" and then the truck began to move. Slowly at first, but then quickly gaining speed.

It was a pretty much a smooth ride. There was no conversation between me and the guards. We all just wanted to get this job over with. There was the occasional cough or grunt from one of the guards, but other than that, the ride was pretty much silent.

The truck soon slowed down and came to a halt. The doors opened and I saw Hunter standing there having a conversation with a pink-haired lady next to him. "That our bait?" I heard the lady asked.

"Yes," Hunter answered. "Are the capture teams in position?"

"They're ready. I still don't understand why we need to use him," the lady said, pointing at me.

"The point for Zero isn't to save Suzaku, Lightning. Zero needs the support of the Japanese people. How better to do that than to save an innocent Japanese?" Lightning...So that was her name...

"You're completely forgetting that plenty of Japanese believe that he's a traitor to his own country."

"True, and if that doesn't work out, then Zero still gains the support of the Japanese as being a merciful hero who'll come to the aid of those who need it. Either way, Zero will be forced to show up. The publicity will work out for him..." Hunter turned back to look at me. "Let's go. What are you waiting for?" I got up from my seat and walk out the truck. Britannian soldiers rushed in from out of nowhere and grabbed hold of me.

Hunter came over to me. "The Britannians will place you on their own transport vehicle. From there, you'll be driven down a straight road, exposed. Hidden Republic teams will be keeping an eye out for Zero if or when he appears. Once Zero is spotted, the Britannians will keep him distracted while Republic squads move in to capture him. That's the plan, anyway."

"And what happens if Zero does something you don't expect?" I asked.

"Then we'll have to improvise, but hopefully it won't have to come to that," Hunter said ominously. I was starting to have a bad feeling about this plan...

"Sir, time to move out," one of the Britannian soldiers said.

Hunter nodded. "Understood. Let's move out!" To me, he said, "I'll see you after the mission..." Then he got into the truck, which drove off in the direction that it came from.

"Let's go, ya sticking Jap," one of the Britannians said, giving me a shove in the back with his gun. I gave that soldier a threatening glance, and then started walking. The soldiers guided me to a large purple vehicle bearing the insignia of the Britannian Empire. There was a post in front of it, which the guards brought me over and chained me onto it, facing forward. I could see, out in the distance, a large crowd of spectators and the flashes of cameras.

"_Well, at least there's an audience,"_ I thought. I scanned the distance, trying to find any hint as to where Zero would be.

Clackclackclackclackclack!

I heard someone walking up metal stairs behind me, but I couldn't turn my head and see who it was. "Let the show begin," I heard a male voice say confidently. The vehicle lurched forward, bringing me closer to my audience.

"Oh my, there he is."

"Son of a bitch needs to pay for the prince's death."

"My, he looks a bit thin..."

I heard the whispers and the murmurs. I saw the looks of disgust and of anger being thrown at me. News cameras were floating all around me, filming the entire scene. And still, Zero didn't make his appearance yet.

I was getting anxious. I was the spotlight of this evening for these people, and I did not like it. It was all a spectacle for these people. They didn't even know the truth. And it was all because of Zero.

Zero, Zero, Zero.

This was a game, and he was winning at this time. He evaded the military, and now he was playing the entire crowd. And none of them suspected a thing. He was an extremist, and he needed to be stopped.

The vehicle continued forward slowly without incident. We were getting closer to the courthouse. That location was heavily guarded, and if Zero didn't make his move now, he wouldn't get a chance to. He'd be trapped between so many armed forces, he wouldn't stand a chance. They would gun him down if he even blinked...

And then, the audience started gasping. I looked around, trying to see what they saw. The Britannian transport came to a halt.

Looked like Zero had arrived on time. A motor vehicle that looked a lot like the late Prince Clovis' personal transport, with Zero standing up in the front seat exuding an air of mystery and confidence, was slowly approaching the Britannian vehicle I was on. There was a female driver, but she wore a black cap and was ducking her head, so I couldn't see her face. Zero's vehicle stopped several meters in front of my transport.

Zero then pointed at me. "I'm here for Suzaku Kururugi. Let him go, and people won't have to die."

Now the game truly started, and I hoped Hunter knew what he was doing, because at this rate, things would get messy real fast.


	7. Behind the Truth

**A/n: Well...finally had time to get a chapter done...Surprisingly...I have more time in college to write than in high school...XD**

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><p>"Lightning, target acquired," I said into the mic of my helmet. I zoomed in on the subject Zero from my 5-stories rooftop position and linked the helmet image to the rest of the capture team.<p>

"Lightning, proceed with capture."

"Understood Hunter."

The look-a-like Prince Clovis's carriage Zero was standing in front of burst open, revealing the bomb the Britannians had reported missing the day of the ghetto attack. "Lightning, hold off on the attack. A new situation has developed."

"Hunter, is that...a bomb?" Lightning asked me.

"No," I told her. "It just looks like one. However, the majority of the Britannian army has no knowledge of this. The Britannian higher ups want to keep it on the down low. Something about a secret experiment or something like that." I knew the entire truth, but orders restricted me from saying it. I continued observing Zero, who was still giving his monologue. "Okay, move in. Take Zero a-"

"ALL FORCES! AID ZERO! LET HIM ESCAPE!"

"Who the fuck..." I looked back at the vehicle holding Suzaku. "Shit..." I swore under my breath. Down below, Jeremiah Gottwald, the guy running the Britannian forces at this event, was pointing his sidearm at a Britannian soldier.

"IF ANYONE IMPEDES ZERO'S ESCAPE, I WILL PERSONALLY EXECUTE YOU!" Jeremiah waved his gun around, acting crazy.

"Quick Light. Go-" I stared to say.

"Hold it right there!" I turned around, slowly, and stared at the end of an Britannian assault rifle's barrel. "Get up!" the soldier ordered me. Slowly, with my hands in the air, I stood up. The soldier aimed unsteadily, leading me to believe the soldier was a rookie. I prepared my elbows, and then whipped it around, knocking the rifle to the side, and then did a side kick to the soldier's chest, knocking his breath out. I moved in quick, grabbing the soldier's head, and then twisted it hard and swiftly, snapping the neck, killing the soldier instantly. I dropped the body to the floor and then proceeded to regroup with my men.

"Lightning, gather the men. We move in now! Eliminate any resistance!" I grabbed my rifle and jumped off the rooftop, hitting the cement sidewalk rolling to avoid injuries. Then again, I probably should have just landed on my feet...Would have been off running faster and my armor and surgically enhanced bones would have absorbed the shock completely.

Anyway, I ran to the street where all hell was breaking loose. A thick cloud of smoke decreased visibility, forcing me to switch to anti-smoke mode in my helmet. I saw a mech ambushing Britannian forces, taking out several mechs in Zero's way, who was making his escape with Suzaku.

"Lightning, get a rocket on that mech!" I ordered. "I want it taken out now!" A rocket flew from one of the rooftops and slammed into the enemy mech's hip, crippling it. The enemy pilot blasted off in an ejection pod, instinctively causing some of my men to go after it. "Do not chase after that pilot!" I said. "I repeat, do not go after the mech pilot. Refocus all efforts in capturing Zero. I want him alive!" I was not going to lose Zero, not when he was THIS close.

I began running after Zero, when I was interrupted by a beep from my comm unit. "Shit!" I swore. The call was coming from my commanding officer, General Shepard. "General, I'm in pursuit of Zero right now!"

"Your orders have changed Captain," the general said. "I want you to cease your pursuit of enemy commander Zero and head back to Republic Command."

"What kind of bullshit order is that?! We're too close to catching the son of a bitch now to stop!" I argued.

"There has been a new development in this situation, which is why you and your team need to head back to base."

"And what of Suzaku Kurarugi?"

"What of him? Let Zero take him. We may be able to glean more info on Zero than we already have." The general sighed. "Do not forget, Kurarugi is a tool. A very useful tool, but a tool nonetheless. He'll lose his importance soon enough."

"I understand, General."

"Good...Now get back to base." With that, the general cut the link.

"This development had better be good," I thought to myself. I opened up a link to the rest of the Republic team. "Alpha Team, new orders. Cease pursuit of Zero and head back to base."

Lightning started to ask, "What-"

"Don't question it. Just get back to Republic Command. Understood?"

"Understood, Hunter. Heading back now," Lightning replied.

I turned around and started running away from the battle. The bang of gunfire was soon only a distant sound as I moved further away from the battlefield.

"This is gonna be a big mess for the Britannians tomorrow," I muttered to myself.

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><p>It's been ten hours since Zero's escape. Kurarugi had returned from being taken from Zero and was standing in front of General Shepard, who was sitting behind his desk. I stood next to Shepard, both of us prepared to debrief Kurarugi.<p>

"Well, that was awfully quick," the general began. He started tapping his desk with his fingers, staring intently at Kurarugi. "Want to explain what happened, son?"

"Zero and Britannian commander Jeremiah Gottwald engaged in some dialogue," Suzaku started. "They were discussing about my release. It was going nowhere. So then, Lelouch revealed that spherical container."

"Why did Gottwald turn on us?" I asked Kurarugi.

He just shrugged. "I don't know. It was just an unexpected change."

The general interjected, "Hunter, we're currently looking into it. I'll talk more about it later." It seemed like he knew more than he wanted to say in front of Kurarugi. "Anyway, you may continue," the general said to Kurarugi.

"The container released smoke, and then Lelouch and another person, female I believe, came and released me."

"Could you get any details on the female?" I asked.

"She mostly kept her head down and she was wearing a black hat, but I could tell she had red hair."

I made a mental note of that. "Interesting," I muttered.

"They used the smokescreen as cover, and led me to their escape vehicle."

"Could you make out any details of the vehicle?" I asked. "We may be able to track down the vehicle."

Kurarugi shook his head. "The smoke was too dense. It was too hard to see. When they pushed me into the vehicle, they put a black bag over my head. We drove for about thirty minutes before we came to a stop. Someone pulled me out of the vehicle and guided me somewhere. They took the bag off my head, and I saw I was standing in front of Zero."

"What did he say to you?" I asked Kurarugi.

"He offered me a position in his private army, the Black Knights, to which I declined unless he showed the world who was under the mask. Zero refused. He believed this war needed a symbol, a symbol for justice, and that he needed to be the symbol the Japanese can look up to."

"Isn't that why you joined the Britannian army? To be a symbol of internal change?" Shepard wondered.

Kurarugi looked down. "Zero and I...We're not so different. His methods are just more extreme. He doesn't want to work with the system. He works against it. He'd rather destroy the system before ever cooperating with it."

"And you, son? Would you ever break the rules, knowing that if you did, you would succeed?" Shepard asked.

"No...The rules are the only things that keep anything working. You break the rules, you unleash chaos."

If he only knew the realities of the universe...Chaos is the only constant in the universe. No matter how much you fight to deny it, it will still exist. Trying to fight against it is futile. In war, you fight fire with fire, never with water, for you will never have enough water to extinguish the towering flames. Kurarugi is the water...and if he doesn't smarten up fast, then the flames will destroy him.

Of courses, I didn't say any of that out loud. Every soldier needs to figure it out by themselves. Kurarugi was no different. They all learn the realities of war soon enough...

"Zero didn't stop me from leaving, but I could feel that it was not the decision he expected," Kurarugi continued. "I walked away and only then did I realize Zero had brought me to the Shinjiku ghettos."

"The place where you faced each other for the first time," I remarked. "Interesting..."

"Yeah," agreed Kurarugi. "I managed to make my way back to Britannian-controlled territory from the ghettos, and then finally ended up here at Republic Command." With that, Kurarugi finished telling us about what happened after Zero got away.

The general sighed and clasped his hands together. "You're dismissed, son," he said to Kurarugi. "Go home, get some rest. We'll call you when we need you." Kurarugi saluted, and then turned and walked out of the room. When the doors slid closed behind Kurarugi, Shepard turned to me. "He knows very little."

"Sir?"

"I received a message yesterday from the Britannian Emperor himself. Do you know what he said?"

"No."

"'Zero is my son. Let the Britannian army handle Zero. The Republic should deal with the other rebel factions.'"

"How is he so sure?"

"That doesn't concern me as much as the fact the Emperor didn't share the info that he had a son in Japan. That missing detail puts a bit of delay on our plan."

"Operation Lion Head sir?"

"Yes. We will need to include Zero in the brief of that op. He is a threat, and if Operation Lion Head commences without the inclusion of Zero, that may have terrible repercussions for the Republic later on."

"How far back will we need to push the operation date, sir?"

"It'll still commence during the time when Princess Euphemia and her older sister Princess Cornelia are here in Japan, just a bit later. On that note, both princesses are expect to arrive in Japan today."

"It shouldn't be too hard to include Zero in Lion Head," I mused. "Either way, the Britannians won't know what's coming." I thought for a couple of minutes, then remembered something. "Sir, you said something about Gottwald's treachery."

"Indeed. The Emperor mentions that his son had a special power, called Geass. I believe that Zero used his Geass on Gottwald, manipulating Gottwald into obeying him."

"So, Zero has proven to be a greater threat and Gottwald is innocent."

"Gottwald is innocent, but he could later be a nuisance for us, so I'll just continue to let the Britannians believe he's a problem to them."

I nodded in agreement. "Is there anything you want me to do now sir?"

"Well, Captain, I want you to go and greet the two princesses when they arrive. And keep an eye out on Cornelia. She will be trouble for us."

"Yes sir." I saluted the general, who saluted back, and then I left his office. I was walking toward the exit of the base when I saw a familiar female face with blue hair talking to a group of Republic troopers. I changed directions and walked towards her, trying to be stealthy in my approach, hoping not to alert her. I gently tapped her on her shoulder, causing her to turn around, and then smile.

"Hunter!" she said surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be on Earth"

"Hello Aqua," I said with a smirk on my face. "Nice to see here. It's been a long time."

"You didn't answer my question," she said with a smile.

"I didn't?" I grinned. "Well, I was assigned here to hunt down the rebel leader Zero. Took some time convincing the doctors I was fit for duty, but it wasn't too hard."

"Yeah..."

"What about you? What are you doing here?"

"The Republic Knights sent me here to protect Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia when they arrive. Apparently, Emperor Charles zi Britannia requested our assistance in the matter."

"Interesting..." Damn it Aqua...Couldn't they have sent someone else?...This would mean that I would have to possibly go against you...Why the fuck must this happen to us...After all the shit that has happened to us already...

"What's the matter?"

I shook my head and lied. "Nothing...It's nothing." I didn't want her to know that there was going to be a huge conflict of interest between the Republic military and the Republic Knights. I didn't need to ruin a moment like this, a meeting between friends who had not seen each other in a long time. She was the reason I was still alive, after getting blown apart by a rebel bomb at the beginning of the fighting between Britannia and Japan. She kept me alive in the middle of that bloody battlefield, when bullets were whizzing by and soldiers were dying in pools of their own blood all around us. Hell, I was dying in a pool of my own blood that day. But Aqua saved me, and for that, I was indebted to her.

"Where you going now?" Aqua asked me.

"I'm heading over to the spaceport. Expecting an arrival of two princesses."

"Cornelia and Euphemia?"

"Yeah."

"I'll go with you."

I nodded. "Sure." We walked outside and headed for a gunship. I got on first and then reached out a hand for Aqua. She grabbed it and I pulled her up.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem."

* * *

><p>When the gunship landed at the spaceport and Aqua and I got off, Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia were in a conversation with a male Britannian officer, and apparently, Cornelia was angry at him, because she ended up pointing a gun at him. When things between the Britannians had died down a bit, Aqua and I decided to approach the princesses.<p>

Aqua was the one to bow to the princesses. I just stood straight, not saying a word yet. "Your Highnesses," Aqua said while bowing. "I'm Republic Knight Aqua, and this is Captain Hunter of the Republic Army," she said, gesturing at me.

"So you're the one the Knights sent to protect us?" Cornelia bluntly asked.

"Yes, your Highness."

"And what about you?" Cornelia addressed to me.

I just raise an eyebrow. "I'm here as a presence of the Republic Army. You might call me a liaison."

"Humph! You and your sticking army. The Republic is full of bull!" Cornelia exclaimed, making her dislike of us very clear. "I don't understand why Father need your aid. We did fine during the war."

"Cornelia!" Euphemia finally spoke up. "Please, big sister, give them some respect! They're here to help us and we should be grateful for it."

Cornelia glared at Euphemia, and then turned back to us. "I apologize for my behavior. I'll do better in holding in my emotions." She gave a slight bow.

"Don't worry, your Highness," Aqua said to Cornelia. "I'll do my best at staying inconspicuous during your time here."

"Thank you Aqua," Euphemia said. She bowed at Aqua.

"Is there any news on the hunt for Zero?" Cornelia asked me. "My men have not been getting any headway on the issue."

Interesting...you would think a father would tell his family. "The Republic does, but I'm not at liberty to say."

"How dare you! This could be important information and you keep it from me?"

"Does it look like I give a damn about what you do or do not get? If you want the information, you go through the proper chain of command to get it." I glared at her. "Piss me off one more time Cornelia, and I will personally put a bullet through your fucking brain."

"Hunter!" Aqua tried to calm the situation. "Anyway, shall we head to your residence, your Highnesses?" Aqua asked, trying to get away from the military talk.

"Very well," Cornelia said, still giving me a death glare

"Thank you Aqua," Euphemia said.

"No problem. It's my duty to do so." Aqua gave me an angry look as she passed by me. She had every right to be. Especially with Lion Head coming soon.

And the general was right. Cornelia was a pain in the fucking ass.

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><p><strong>An: By the way, if you haven't guess, I have cameos/actually story plots from other video game characters and characters from my first fanfic. Aqua is from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and Lightning is from Final Fantasy XIII.**


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